murphyI loved Jose Oquendo. The Mets gave up on him way too early. He couldn't hit a lick when he first came up with the Mets. He originally was a switch hitter who couldn't hit from either side. He used to wear this weird donut pad on this thumb when he hit from the right side. The Mets released him and replaced him with Rafael Santana, who was just as bad if not worse in the batter's box. Oquendo went on to be an extremely valuable utility man for the Cards. He became exactly the kind of hitter that Ordonez needs to become.

Ted Alexandro
December 12, 2000When I was about 10 years old I won a pass to a baseball clinic at Shea and one of the players there was Jose Oquendo. Despite minimal english speaking skills he was extremely engaging, enthusiastic and helpful. I asked him who his favorite player was when he was a kid and he said "Ivan DeJesus." After that day Jose Oquendo was one of my favorite players.

Mr. Sparkle
January 5, 2001I loved this guy when he was with the Mets. HE was a very flashy fielder when the Mets were just geting good. I remember at one point he got his average up to .299 before it plummetted. We had a kid in college on our team named Paul Dejesus that played short and we called him Jose Oquendo. Too bad he was traded to of all teams the Cardinals. He is the manager of their minor league team in Jersey now.

David Diaz
February 22, 2001Cheito, as he was known in the La Cumbre Caimito area of Rio Piedras had the best hands many ever saw. He was a member of a group of Puertorican prospects that all signed at the same time & made it to the show. ( Fco. Oliveras-SFO,Luis Aquino-KC, Luis Rivera- Montreal, And Hector Villanueva Chi. Cubs) He is now a key art of Tony La Russa's staff in St Louis and I would not be suprised if he is the Bigs first Puertorican manager. Good luck to Cheito on his quest.

Jose Angel Pacheco
July 11, 2002I agree with David Diaz. Jose Oquendo may very well become the first Puerto Rican MLB manager. His passion for the game is truly unmatched, and he has been a very good understudy of Tony LaRussa.

He is also one of the legit "good guys" in baseball. On the field as a Met he was a lot like Rey Ordo˝ez is today, but overall he was a much bigger baseball man that Ordo˝ez will ever be.

Teddy
July 19, 2002When the Mets traded him away, Oquendo complained about the Mets and the coaching staff. He said they didn't do anything to help him. Bill Robinson replied "That's a very immature young man."

Carolyn
October 8, 2002Jose Oquendo, I think, is the best person in the world. I love him. I've known him all my life and even though I don't see him much (because he's coaching for the Cards) I still love him. Hopefully he gets the chance to manage an MLB team! This winter 2002 he's going to Puerto Rico to manage a team. So I'm very excited I'm going down there to watch him manage that team and see how he does. I do hope that if he does manage a team that many people enjoy him and that they understand how hard it is and not make one person angry because of the way he did something.

flushing flash
October 14, 2002If the Mets are going to interview other teams' coaches for a possible managerial position, why talk to a guy like Ken Macha with no ties to the Mets? Why not Jose Oquendo, who broke in as a teenager in 1983 and is respected as a smart, knowledgeable player and coach? Plus, Cheo would be a great marketing tool to the Mets large Hispanic fan base.

johnmn55
January 28, 2003The most manifestly overmatched that I have ever seen a batter in any organized baseball season was 19 year old Jose Oquendo facing Nolan Ryan in 1983. It was wrong. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen!

Larry Burns
January 31, 2003Is there any appreicable difference between Jose Oquendo and Rey Ordonez? Both last names began with "O", both were shortstops, both were Hispanic, both were known for their glove work, both could not get a hit if their lives depended on it. These 2 guys were some of the most overrated people the Mets ever had. At least Oquendo actually went on to have a servicable career with St. Louis. Ordonez will always be terrible. I guess that is the difference. Rey was more overrated and more terrible than Jose.

flushing flash
January 31, 2003Actually, there is a big difference between the two.

Oquendo actually learned to hit a little with the Cardinals. He was beloved by the fans there and is now serving as a coach and may one day be their manager.

Ordonez will never learn to hit and the fans in Tampa will soon tire of his act, unless Sweet Lou tires of it first and nails his butt to the bench. He will never be able to coach anyone on anything and when his career is over he will disappear.

Mr. Sparkle
February 3, 2003First guy to play for the Mets that was younger than me. Now, other than Franco, they all are.

jess
June 12, 2003Oquendo was probably the x-factor to those great Cards teams in the 80's. Too bad the Mets dumped him early on, like they should have done with Ordonez.

Ventman
June 13, 2003Got his autograph at one of the games in the 2002 season. Man does he speak good English now! Diametric opposite of the nervous, incomprehensible kid of twenty years ago!

FeatFan
June 17, 2003You heard it here first....This, one day, will be the manager of the NY Mets...solid guy a la Felipe Alou!

Nishna
October 13, 2003One of my favorite Shea moments was the last day of the 1983 season, a doubleheader with Montreal on a drizzly day. I don't remember much about game 1 other than the Mets won, but in game 2 the Mets were down a run with 2 out in the 9th. Forget who got the hit, but little Jose Oquendo came racing around 3rd and was out by 5 feet... but he barreled into the catcher (not Carter, his back-up) and knocked the ball loose to score the winning run. With the crowd (all 2500 of us) going nuts and the players mobbing Oquendo, you'd have thought they won the pennant.

Lifelong Fan
July 26, 2005Was coming into his own when he got traded. Another bad Met trade.

Shickhaus Franks
October 8, 2006A couple of years ago, Jose was the subject of an ESPN Classic special hosted by the Sklar Brothers (Jason & Randy) where tongue-in-cheek they wanted the Baseball HOF to induct Jose Oquendo!

Larry
August 31, 2011Jose was born July 4, 1963. I believe he was the first ever Met player to be born after the Mets very first game in 1962.

Jonathan Stern
June 19, 2012JosÚ Oquendo is currently the third base coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. When Cardinals' outfielder Carlos Beltran hit that extra-base hit that was wrongly (and thankfully) ruled a foul ball during Johan Santana's no-hitter, Oquendo went ballistic. Former Mets teammates Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez said from the broadcast booth that they had never seen Oquendo get that angry. And, of course, he was right - had he been wrong, he probably would have been tossed. But, sorry Yankee fans. Bad calls are part of the game.

Richard Weinberg
January 10, 2014He should have been the Met shortstop through the 80's, and well into the 90's. While with the Mets, Oquendo was great in the field, and worked very hard to improve his hitting. Davey Johnson just did not like him, and was instrumental in treading him away to their arch rivals St. Louis, for what amounted to absolutely nothing. Whitey Herzog was a lot more supportive of Oquendo, nicknaming him "The Secret Weapon" Under Whitey, Oquendo greatly improved his hitting year by year, and eventually finished in the top ten hitting in 1989.